Archaeon,

I miss you! I hope you are well. I thought I would respond in the same format that you elected to reach out in. Know that I speak for myself, and not necessarily the entire Faith Recusant. This is apparently necessary to say.

I see that you are struggling, and I can offer some support. You are in a very difficult position. Friends of yours are going against what you believe. You may or may not agree with parts of what we're saying, but you most certainly take issue with other parts of what we're saying. Namely, that the Bloodsworn aren't infallible.

You know I care for you, and you know I care for those left behind in Targossas. Mostly, at least. Some of them are being jerks. I empathize with your pain. I struggled with similar feelings when my friends left the Dawnspear behind, and took up arms against what I believed in. We'll ignore the irony, considering who's involved.

You consider us a blight (first of all, rude), and you claim that none may speak on Them, that They speak for each Other (they have absolutely never interfered with the other Order. On multiple occasions, both of Them implied doing so would be wrong), and you cite the Bloodsworn being charged with the safeguarding of Creation. You then state that this means They are the patrons of Good. This, actually, is not necessarily correct. Good is not Their realm. They have always taught that Good is a force - a separate force. Their causes are in alignment with Good. There is a difference in being in alignment with Good, and being the patrons of Good. It is a minor difference, but it is a difference that you will either see, or it is one that you will dismiss out of hand. Whatever you decide to do with it, I offer it as a glimpse of my perspective.

You accuse us of being off the path of Righteousness. That may be true, for me. I am not concerned about Righteousness, and I am not concerned with Light. The Lightbringer has shown that Light means whatever She wants it to mean. For example, I am concerned with Truth. This is no longer important to the Dawnspear.

Take the open acknowledgement of Cala's heritage for example. It offers clear, indisputable evidence that Lyndee, Lumarch and Herald of Redemption at the time, was impregnated by Atalkez, who was an oathbreaker preparing to wage war against the Dawnspear at the time. A handful of years later, Lyndee ensured Atalkez an exceptionally smooth passage into the Dawnspear when he realized the attention he so desperately craves from the Lightbringer was available once more. This is a very obvious conflict of interests, and yet I suspect it has gone unnoticed and unquestioned in the Dawnspear.

I would assume this is the case because the Dawnlord has taken the stance that she is now unquestionable. That as Their mortal representative, she is above reproach. The Lightbringer has only reinforced and supported this stance. And so what might the reasonable action be? The Dawnlord has unquestionable authority. Her consort has risen to Lumarch. The Lightbringer supports them both. The only choice if you value your citizenship is looking the other way and fervently upholding silence.

One key difference between the Recusants and the Dawnspear is how we might react to something like that. We can see that that is an obvious conflict of interest, exceptionally unethical, and were something similar to happen to the Recusants, we would be empowered to deal with it. In contrast, citizens of the Dawnspear are not allowed to see that as a conflict of interest. You are not allowed to view that as unethical. You are not allowed to question Lyndee and Atalkez. Because by doing so, you are apparently questioning Her.

And so we arrive, once again, to "this is right because I say so". This is a stance that the Lightbringer has taken since Her return. The Dawnlord has demanded Sothantos put the Righteous Fire in unquestionable peril by departing the Caefir improperly. There are nuances that those not aware of Caefir practices will not understand, but the danger Sothantos would be putting the Righteous Fire in is clear.

Lyndee has backed this demand with granting her lackeys authority to hunt Sothantos down until he complies. They do so with abundant glee. They go out of their way, repeatedly, to fight us. The bounties are a transparent excuse to initiate martial conflict. This has been made clear by Atalkez, who has repeatedly pursued further skirmishes as long as he is currently winning, regardless of whether he still has a bounty or not.

If you want to fight me, I am willing to face you. You need only ask, and I will grant you the opportunity - within reason, of course. You need not hunt me down. You need not waste your gold on trying to use talon tattoos or bribery for the opportunity. I am happy to duel, and I have always been willing to duel. I wonder what messages your colleagues give by insisting on engaging with overwhelming force, in the rare times the Dawnspear has more than a few soldiers present.

Is this obscene bloodthirst justified? Apparently, because She says so.

I wonder how long that will be enough for you.

Love,
Tesha

Penned by my hand on the 13th of Phaestian, in the year 845 AF.